Chibi

Oh, so there is a 10-year age gap between the lead actors, but it ISN'T a noona-romance? From the director of SITR, OSN *and* SLA? :O :O
Very interesting......! Can't wait to watch!🔥

Completely! I too thought he'd be the flute guy, totally matches the vibes of Poison Bro from MJTY! Fits looks-wise too! But then, his last name wasn't Ran/ Lan... so I knew he'd be playing someone else! T_T

Though, I'm really ???? about the dude playing Shuuhei (Cheng Hong Xin).... total miscast, and what a shame. Out of all the guys, romantic interests as well as purely platonic, Shuuhei was my favorite! I wish they got someone befitting a Military Leader, but also really charming in a smooth-talker kind of a way! :') We still haven't got news on Shusui's casting, so I hope she can salvage atleast one-half of that couple! 🙈

It's only his 2nd project, so too early to say if he's typecast, but gosh, he was SO amazing in this 'slightly cranky' version of a 'i-hate-girls' teenager. 🤣
Also, I always assumed our FL was older than this adopted cousin character... cuz she was always so mature, serious and no-nonsense. Turns out, nope, she's about 4-5 years younger than him! 🙈 TJR really looks like an uwu smol baby in front of li yitong 😅😅

Since the setting of the story is fictional imperial China, all the Japanese names in Romaji would have Pinyin translation. Like FL Kou Shuurei is Hong Xiuli.
https://saiunkokumonogatari.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Characters
This page has all the characters listed, with individual character names & their pinyin translations. The easier way to figure them out is by knowing the clan name's pinyin... for ex. Kou=>Hong (red), Shi=>Zi (purple), Ran=>Lan (indigo), Sa=>Cha (brown), Heki=>Bi (jade green), Hyou=>Piao (light indigo), Ko=>Huang (yellow) and Haku=>Bai (white).
Characters not belonging to any of these 8 families/ clans, are minor, and some of them may not even appear in this adaptation.

Just realized, Tian Jiarui's character is once again going to have a bromance with a character married to an undercover Assassin Lady! 🤣 And out of all these beautiful men & women, he's the only one that remains single till the end! 😭
Dude JUST can't seem to catch a break! :P :P

I mean, let's just say, she loved the idea of revenge more. And I wouldn't be surprised if she was BS-ing on that too.... like she could have said she wanted Infinite Heat to finish off Dianzhu & Wufeng, but all of THAT could have been a lie too, and secretly (and not to secretly), her allegiance was always towards Wufeng all along.
The biggest indicator is how we are *shown* YWS betray Wufeng (to avenge Yun Que's death), but we are never shown SGQ betray Wufeng (it's all talks at this point). This is precisely why Shangjue does not believe a word she says. Neither do the viewers.
Interestingly, both actors decided to play the characters in an ambiguous way. They did not discuss character motivations, morality or how far along they were in their feelings for each other. Which is why they could keep viewers guessing & theorizing so successfully! ^^

I'm no expert on this topic... however, MJTY's aesthetics has a LOT to do with the historical era it is set in. Though, there is no official confirmation from the creators, but hanfu enthusiasts on tumblr and other spaces, have concluded a lot of the fashion (as well as architectural aesthetics) belonging to the Jin & Wei dynasties (in short, pre-Tang dynasties). Most of the dramas set Tang and beyond, usually have the 'typical hanfu' look (and aesthetics) we associate with historical c-dramas (not to be confused with xianxias, i.e. fantasy-period dramas with non-humans). I believe Tang was one of the first historic eras in China, which had opened up their borders for cultural exchange with the rest of the world, hence the silhouettes and colors (pigments for makeup, dyeing clothes and painting architectural details) which came to vary greatly than the pre-Tang era. The dynasties that followed... the Songs, the Mings, the Qings, all were based on such ideals of aesthetics. And most of the dramas we see these days, a large chunk of them belong to these dynasties, and that's why the vast representation of such looks dominating c-dramas. Not to mention, the more recent dynasties spanned longer in history, than the smaller, turbulent, short-lived dynasties of the pre-Tang.
MJTY has an additional layer to just being set in a pre-Tang dynasty. The most famous of them all (culturally well-studied & documented, even internationally) is the Han dynasty. I believe Zhao Lusi's LLTG is the most-recent and well-known example. The aesthetics of that drama, is quite understated when compared with the likes of Ming and Qing dynasty drama's grandeur. The architecture is a lot less ornamented, and so are the people. MJTY's fictional dynasty is a lot closer in values and looks, as the Han Dynasty, than it is to any of the post-Tang dynasties. It is absolutely so, if it is actually set in the Jin or Wei period, as speculated.
In fact, dynasties around the Han have influenced the aesthetics of the Heian period in Japan, much further down in history. The outfit construction and silhouette, the hairstyles, the architectural details... almost all design philosophies of the Heian are rooted in Han dynasty philosophies. They both share a very minimal look, and thus are very easy to confuse for each other. MJTY even came under fire from a section of the domestic audience, claiming it was 'too japanese'. From the cut of the sleeves and the robes, to the ponytail hairstyles of the female characters.... The director of this drama also has a history of being biased towards this look (and choosing to glorify it). The blueish/greenish grey color grading (filter) of the drama was also thought to be 'too japanese' because chinese historical aesthetics have leaned towards saturated vibrancy (not considering pre-Tang... ) whereas 'japan is associated with being somber and introspective looking', much like the tones of this drama.
Tldr: MJTY has a certain sense of minimalism and restraint even in its grandeur, that isn't representative of what is popularly considered as 'authentically chinese', and it's because it is set in one of the older eras, famously known for being understated in its aesthetics.
I wish more dramas were set in this period. If you haven't, you could check out Legend of Haolan (Zhou dynasty) and Wind blows from Longxi (3kingdoms). But I admit, MJTY has a 'look' I haven't seen before 🙈

I'm actually glad they made this change. Remember how 13th Princess of Lan family was supposed to be the FL's doppelganger, and thus was being considered as her replacement, as the Empress? Yeah, I wasn't a fan. 13th never got along well with either the ML or the harem/ palace rules. She seems more free-spirited than even our FL, so it makes sense, she gets paired off with the brother, who looks like our ML, but would never actually come back into the palace, cuz he's given it up. :D
Additionally, that frees up the brother-prince (the SML) from pining away for the FL. He actually gets to have a love-line, and bonus, it's the character who looks like our FL! Hooray! A WIN!!!! ^^

I loved how they met, and i loved how they parted, too! My kind of bittersweet story. Moreover, I'm totally convinced with their decisions, very consistent wirh their established character backgrounds :)

Cheng Lei and Shangjue are two different people with the same face. Lol! 🤣

Initially, i was like.... wait, what? They did NOT sleep together in the bath-scene? Then, when and how is Qian pregnant? And even if she's lying, it atleast has to be a credible lie, innit? Like, SJ must have bedded her or else... why would she come up with such an outrageous lie? Imagine you never slept with a woman, and she comes and tells you she's carrying your child?!! 🤣
And then.... I realised, it must have had to have happened offscreen after the bath. SJ clearly asked if she had recovered and her physical health was okay? And then proceeded to get her 'clean' in that bath, because yes, it's canon how he's a clean-freak (that scene where he asks her to wipe the dirt off her face, when she's planting the azaleas) 🙈 and I totally can get down with the fact that SJ is the type to insist on pre-sex bathing. 🤣 He had every intention to bed her.
Not to mention, undoing her hair in private is a gesture suggesting he was about to claim some 'husband rights' as per ancient customs. And he even knocked his cup. Which is a euphemism for Round 2. All the while suggestively gazing over her body. So yes, I do believe that is the time she's alluding to, when she says she's pregnant :)

Qian & Shangjue's post-wedding reception video is out, you guys! 😍🤣🤣
https://twitter.com/afterrnoont/status/1704427056212402422?t=N5uzZkO84gL5ZKrXTo-ATA&s=19

Somehow, I believe this drama got *just* the right amount of international fame? Across Asia though, it's crazy famous. For a low-key entertainment industry like that of Taiwan, the fact that the Main Leads have become almost household names/ faces in that region, is quite a big deal. Shows how many hearts they touched beyond physical borders and language barriers! :)
SD1D is like that quaint little bar in the town, that only welcomes a very select group of people, of aren't turned off by the optics. And honestly, that is the kind of 'viewer' group this story was targeting. I'm happy for the creators (it was never meant to be 'for the mass') ^^

Thought the same as well (flute dude). But the Ran family's last name is Lan here. As it should be when you convert from/to pinyin. Can't remember any character who's name was remotely similar to Li Ze Mu (TJR's character)

Ziyu always had an older Gege, Huanyu, who was the direct the rival of Shangjue for the position of SW (till he kicked the bucket, of course). Add to that, claims of illegitimacy!
Yuanzhi on the other hand, did not have any older brother, and just lost his Dad. Shangjue, as a result is not only an older Gege to YZ, but I suspect, a step-in father figure as well.
To Shangjue... well, YZ is complicated. A replacement, but also, not quite.

I swear to god, that's what she's planning.
And she'll again be fake-embarrassed with watery eyes, and ask Shangjue... Young Master, do you even need to ask? *flutter lashes, looks flustered*
I'm imagining the extent of tomato-red Shangjue's face is going to get. Hehehehehehe! xD

Randomly popping into say....
I've been humming Seo Ji Won's 'gather my tears' constantly, ever since i finished. The show has successfully made it into an earworm! ☺️

Yeah, and the fact that the FL literally gets that second chance despite the casette-player being totally bust, was BECAUSE she could not bring herself to let go anything and everything that contained a memory of her dead boyfriend. It was her way to keep him alive in her heart, that actually enables her to make that final trip and set everything right. They totally missed the point. And even more so, because they hinted at it when the FL teases her boyfriend about wanting to keep a 'vintage car with a casette player in 2023', but in the end, they did not quite go there.
Missed opportunity!

I would say the original is shot and edited to be intentionally even more confusing than the remake. So, fair caution!

Yep, my feelings and opinions followed a similar trajectory as i watched..... and the more i watched, the more i liked, and the less i compared! :)